Jacob Ross

Set on the Caribbean island of Camoha, we follow detective Michael Digson as he tries to unravel multiple murders, including one perpetrated by his partner detective Miss Stanislaus against a backdrop of growing corruption ad international crime on the island.

My first impressions of this book were poor. I found the Caribbean patois difficult to follow and the island culture hard to reckon with. The plot drew me in and the rhythm of the language became more familiar. The characters, even the show more minor ones, are all so well drawn and the action so believable that eventually this book became unputdownable.

Highly recommended. show less

This is the first volume of the Camaho Quartet and I was immediately captivated by it.
Michael 'Digger' Digson is recruited by Detective Superintendent Chilman for a newly formed police force. Digger has his own agenda, however, as he wants to find out what happened to his mother. He is an illegitimate child and his biological father is the chief of police of the Caribbean island of Camaho.
It soon becomes clear that the women and girls on the island are oppressed and abused and that only a show more few of them fight back, but have to pay for it with their lives. The men always get away scot-free. Digger wants to take action against this, but it's not that easy. With the help of Chilman's daughter Miss Stanislaus, a secretary at the police station and DS Chilman's backing, he manages to solve the cases.
Very excitingly written with lots of insight knowledge about a world that is foreign to me. show less

A detective novel set on the fictional Caribbean island of Camaho. Michael "Digger" Digson is a bright kid with no future, shanghaied into the police force by a superintendent who excels at spotting talent in unlikely places. Digger is reluctant to join at first - he has his own history with the force, as the illegitimate son of the Police Commissioner and a woman who was killed by police during a demonstration. But the temptation of finding out what really happened to his mother - and the show more lack of any other options - brings him into the job. Superintendant Chilman gives him a hint now and again about his mother, but is obsessed with an unsolved case of his own - a young man called Nathan, whose disappearance he feels hasn't received the police attention it deserves. As Digger follows both trails, he starts to uncover some of the corruption within the island - reminding me of [[Ian Rankin]]'s portrayal of Scotland's underbelly.

I really enjoyed this - a good mystery, vivid sense of place and culture, and interesting characters. This is billed as the first book in a quartet, although the only one published so far. I expect the overarching story of the quartet will be what happened to Digger's mother, which we have only uncovered a little of so far. I will certainly get the next one when it comes out. show less

The writing is a joy and the dialect brings a lyric spoken word quality that just swings along. The plot carries the characters but the characters are at the heart of it. I was particularly interested how the first person narrative uses dialect for speaking and quite an english voice for reporting to the reader - with the two voices providing depth and variety. Many of us have grown up with multiple voices, whether it is school vs home or peer group vs family or friends vs work - and it's show more nice to see it used here. show less